Home price growth accelerated in July on a month-over-month basis even as annual increases continued to slip, according to a market report.
CoreLogic's [1] Home Price Index [2] (HPI) rose 1.2 percent from June to July, the company reported, lifting slightly from June's 1.0 percent monthly gain. The improvement includes both distressed and non-distressed sales.
Compared to a year prior, July's index was up 7.4 percent, barely down from 7.5 percent in June. As of the July report, the national HPI has risen year-over-year for 29 straight months.
At the state level, Michigan ranked highest in appreciation over the last year with an index gain of 11.4 percent. Also ranking among the top were Maine (10.6 percent), Nevada (10.6 percent), Hawaii (10.5 percent), and California (10.5 percent).
"While home prices have clearly moderated nationwide since the spring, the geographic drivers of price increases are shifting," said Sam Khater, deputy chief economist for CoreLogic. "Entering this year, price increases were led by western and southern states, but over the last few months northeastern and Midwestern states are migrating to the forefront of home price rankings."
Eleven states as well as the District of Columbia have hit new index highs: Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont.
At the state level, only one state posted depreciation over the last year: Arkansas, which reported a 0.9 percent drop in its own index.
Taking out REO and short sales, the national HPI improved 6.8 percent over the year and 1.1 percent month-to-month. All states posted annual appreciation without distressed sales.
Looking a year out, CoreLogic predicts home prices, including distressed sales, will bump up another 0.6 percent month-over-month in August—a considerable slowdown—and 5.7 percent by next July.